Sound Off for Saturday, Dec. 21

Saturday, December 21, 2013

ANTI-CRITICISMI’m getting a real laugh out of Rush Limbaugh going after Pope Francis, calling him anti-capitalist and all kinds of stuff. I guess pointing out the flaws of a system automatically means you want to dismantle it. I’m all for capitalism but I’m aware that it has its flaws. Before I thought that meant that I was a capitalist who lived in the real world, but thanks to Rush I now know it means I’m a communist.

JUST COMMON SENSEAn article in the Times on Wednesday states leading economists say that the income inequality in this country is holding back our economy. This is just common sense. When middle class and poor people get money they spend it, which drives the economy. Rich people don’t spend money, because they already have so much of it they don’t need to spend. People like Rush Limbaugh don’t see this. He says anyone who talks about income inequality is anti-U.S. and anti-free enterprise, but that’s just not true. We’re tired of this unfairness in our economy, that’s all.

LESSON NOT LEARNEDTo “Teach Us A Lesson,” Matthew Brouillette’s op-ed wasn’t right on the money. All it was was an anti-union rant. I figure Mr. Brouillette, like a lot of other people, don’t like unions because they’re the last bastion of hope for the middle class to make a decent wage.

QUALITY WINSTo “Buy American? Humbug!,” I’m on a limited income, but I buy all American products online. When I spend my money I want quality, not the ability to buy a lot. Being on a fixed income, I’ll take quality over quantity any day.

BARBARA NEEDS TO HANG IT UPIs Barbara Walters pulling a Regis Philbin and not quitting when she said she would? Her routine is getting old. She should have remembered the old showbiz adage of going out on your high note.

BETTER OFF NOWI don’t know what employment rates “Boothwyn” and other callers have been reading, but they’re probably from some right-wing source. All I know is that the American people are a lot better off now under the Obama administration than under eight years of Bush/Cheney.

‘CHOKERS’ HAVE MORE RINGSReferring to Matt Smith writing that the Dallas Cowboys are a bunch of chokers, I’d like to politely remind him that the Cowboys have five Super Bowl rings. Meanwhile, the Eagles have none and are the only team in the NFC East without one.

GREEDY CHARITIESI’ve been helping charities for a long time. I give what I can afford, generally $25-30 each to a half-dozen or so charities. When I get a letter from a charity asking for $50 or up the letter goes in the trash. Why do they start the minimum suggestion at a level like that in the current economic climate? Why don’t the emphasize “give what you can spare?” I care, but can only give so much.

BUY AMERICAN!“Buy American? Humbug!” is clueless. American products are of much higher quality than foreign products. We have regulations that make sure that things like lead paint aren’t on things that young children might put in their mouth. That’s on top of issues like environmental regulations and wages. Buying American not only helps American workers but the products will last far longer.

CAPITALISM DELIVERSNo other nation has been as committed to freedom and delivering equal justice. Our capitalistic system has encouraged social mobility and advanced individual prosperity. We are charitable and inclusive. It is not the political class we should look to for setting the tone for our culture. Considering our leadership in Washington, a change at the top might restore the faith we’ve lost in ourselves.

RADNOR

A TRUE DISEASE?Someone has to stop the American Medical Association. I keep hearing commercials about “Shiftwork Disorder.” Since the industrial revolution there have been plenty of people in society working shift work and having to adjust their sleep schedule. But now according to the AMA it’s a disease, just like countless other nonsense diseases. I can’t wait until the first person gets Social Security benefits because they can’t work night work. We have the light bulb and we’re going to keep on using it.